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You are here: Home / Plant Profile

Amorpha fruticosa L.
false indigo bush



General Information
Symbol: AMFR
Group: Dicot
Family: Fabaceae
Duration: Perennial
Growth Habit: Shrub
Native Status: CAN   N
L48   N
Other Common Names: desert false indigo
Characteristics
Plant Guide (pdf) (doc)
Data Source and Documentation
About our new maps
Plants-NRCS Logos
green round image for nativity Native blue round image for introduced Introduced ocre round image for introduced and nativity Both white round image for no status Absent/Unreported
image for native, but no county data Native, No County Data image for introduced, but no county data Introduced, No County Data both introduced and native, but no county data Both, No County Data
Native Status:
lower 48 status L48    Alaska status AK    Hawaii status HI    Puerto Rico status PR    Virgin Islands status VI    Navassa Island NAV    Canada status CAN    Greenland status GL    Saint Pierre and Michelon status SPM    North America NA   

Images

click on a thumbnail to view an image, or see all the Amorpha thumbnails at the Plants Gallery

Jennifer Anderson. United States, IA, Scott Co., Davenport, Nahant Marsh. 2002. Usage Requirements.

Robert H. Mohlenbrock. USDA SCS. 1989. Midwest wetland flora: Field office illustrated guide to plant species. Midwest National Technical Center, Lincoln. Provided by USDA NRCS Wetland Science Institute (WSI). Usage Requirements.

Herman, D.E., et al. 1996. North Dakota tree handbook. USDA NRCS ND State Soil Conservation Committee; NDSU Extension and Western Area Power Administration, Bismarck. Provided by ND State Soil Conservation Committee. Provided by USDA NRCS Bismarck PMC (NDPMC). United States, ND. Usage Requirements.

Herman, D.E., et al. 1996. North Dakota tree handbook. USDA NRCS ND State Soil Conservation Committee; NDSU Extension and Western Area Power Administration, Bismarck. Provided by ND State Soil Conservation Committee. Provided by USDA NRCS Bismarck PMC (NDPMC). United States, ND. Usage Requirements.

Herman, D.E., et al. 1996. North Dakota tree handbook. USDA NRCS ND State Soil Conservation Committee; NDSU Extension and Western Area Power Administration, Bismarck. Provided by ND State Soil Conservation Committee. Provided by USDA NRCS Bismarck PMC (NDPMC). United States, ND. Usage Requirements.

Herman, D.E., et al. 1996. North Dakota tree handbook. USDA NRCS ND State Soil Conservation Committee; NDSU Extension and Western Area Power Administration, Bismarck. Provided by ND State Soil Conservation Committee. Provided by USDA NRCS Bismarck PMC (NDPMC). United States, ND. Usage Requirements.

©Elaine Haug. Provided by Smithsonian Institution, Department of Botany. United States, VA, Woodbridge, Occoquan National Wildlife Refuge, Belmont Bay. Usage Requirements.

Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913. An illustrated flora of the northern United States, Canada and the British Possessions. 3 vols. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York. Vol. 2: 365. Provided by Kentucky Native Plant Society. Scanned by Omnitek Inc. Usage Requirements.

USDA NRCS. Wetland flora: Field office illustrated guide to plant species. USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. Provided by NRCS National Wetland Team. Usage Requirements.

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Synonyms

Symbol Scientific Name
AMAN2 Amorpha angustifolia (Pursh) Boynt.
AMBU2 Amorpha bushii Rydb.
AMCR3 Amorpha croceolanata P.W. Watson
AMCU4 Amorpha curtissii Rydb.
AMDE3 Amorpha dewinkeleri Small
AMFRA Amorpha fruticosa L. var. angustifolia Pursh
AMFRC Amorpha fruticosa L. var. croceolanata (P.W. Watson) P.W. Watson ex Mouillef.
AMFRE Amorpha fruticosa L. var. emarginata Pursh
AMFRO2 Amorpha fruticosa L. var. oblongifolia Palmer
AMFRO Amorpha fruticosa L. var. occidentalis (Abrams) Kearney & Peebles
AMFRT Amorpha fruticosa L. var. tennesseensis (Shuttlw. ex Kunze) Palmer
AMOC Amorpha occidentalis Abrams
AMOCA Amorpha occidentalis Abrams var. arizonica (Rydb.) Palmer
AMOCE Amorpha occidentalis Abrams var. emarginata (Pursh) Palmer
AMTE7 Amorpha tennesseensis Shuttlw. ex Kunze
AMVI3 Amorpha virgata Small

Classification

Click on a scientific name below to expand it in the PLANTS Classification Report.
Rank Scientific Name and Common Name
Kingdom Plantae – Plants
Subkingdom Tracheobionta – Vascular plants
Superdivision Spermatophyta – Seed plants
Division Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants
Class Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons
Subclass Rosidae
Order Fabales
Family Fabaceae ⁄ Leguminosae – Pea family
Genus Amorpha L. – false indigo
Species Amorpha fruticosa L. – false indigo bush

Subordinate Taxa

This plant has no children

Legal Status

Noxious Weed Information
This plant is listed by the U.S. federal government or a state. Common names are from state and federal lists. Click on a place name to get a complete noxious weed list for that location, or click here for a composite list of all Federal and State Noxious Weeds.
Connecticut
false indigo
Potentially invasive, banned
Washington
indigobush
Class B noxious weed
indigobush, lead plant
Noxious weed seed and plant quarantine
U.S. Weed Information
Amorpha fruticosa
false indigo
indigobush
This plant can be weedy or invasive according to the authoritative sources noted below.This plant may be known by one or more common names in different places, and some are listed above. Click on an acronym to view each weed list, or click here for a composite list of Weeds of the U.S.
STATE Assorted authors. State noxious weed lists for 46 states. State agriculture or natural resource departments.

Wetland Status

Interpreting Wetland Status

North America
Arid West FACW
Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain FACW
Eastern Mountains and Piedmont FACW
Great Plains FACW
Midwest FACW
Northcentral & Northeast FACW
Western Mountains, Valleys, and Coast FACW

Wildlife

Food

Source Large Mammals Small Mammals Water Birds Terrestrial Birds
Gee Low

Cover

Source Large Mammals Small Mammals Water Birds Terrestrial Birds
Gee

Sources

Gee, K.L., M.D. Porter, S. Demarais, F.C. Bryant, and G.V. Vreede. 1994. White-tailed deer: Their foods and management in the Cross Timbers. Ardmore.

Description of Values

Value Class Food Cover
High Average 25-50% of diet Regular source of cover
Low 5-10% of diet Infrequently used as cover
Minor 2-5% of diet Sparsely used as cover
Moderate Average 10-25% of diet Occasional source of cover

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